Today we’re sharing Puerto Rican Salted Coconut Flan — a creamy custard inspired by my mother’s classic flan, brightened with coconut and finished with a homemade caramel.
A simple but impressive 3-step dessert
At Salima’s Kitchen we love recipes that are straightforward and delicious. This Puerto Rican Salted Coconut Flan is one of those — easy to make yet elegant enough for company.
It comes together in three easy steps:
- Make the caramel (two ingredients, about 15 minutes).
- Blend the filling ingredients in a blender until smooth.
- Pour the custard over the caramel, bake in a water bath, cool, then flip and serve.
Making the caramel — you got this
Homemade caramel can seem intimidating with talk of thermometers and precise temperatures, but this recipe uses an easy dry caramel method with no equipment beyond a pan.
The only real requirement is patience. Give the sugar 10–15 minutes over medium heat and keep your attention on it. Don’t stir or use utensils — simply watch as the sugar slowly melts, turns golden, bubbles and becomes liquid. This is exactly what you want.
Once the sugar is fully melted, carefully pour it into your oven-safe baking dish and swirl to coat the bottom and sides. I used individual dishes, but a round pyrex works well too.
For a bright sweet-salty contrast, sprinkle flake salt over the caramel as it cools and begins to harden.
Caramel sticking to the pan?
Occasionally a thick layer of caramel can remain stuck to the bottom after flipping. This usually results from:
- a caramel layer that was too thick for the dish, or
- a baking dish with too small a surface area for the amount of caramel used.
If caramel sticks, gently warm the dish over low heat until the caramel liquefies, then pour it over the flan. Next time try a wider dish or use less caramel to ensure it melts evenly.
More flan variations
This salted coconut version is a Caribbean take on classic flan, which traditionally uses evaporated and sweetened condensed milk. I like swapping in sweetened condensed coconut milk for a tropical twist, but you can experiment with many flavor variations.
Cheese flan, guava flan, and flan combined with cake (flan-chó) are all popular ideas. Try incorporating your favorite tropical fruits or flavors — coconut, mango, passionfruit or guava work beautifully.
For now, this Puerto Rican Salted Coconut Flan is my go-to when I want a dessert that’s both simple and special.
Buen provecho,
Puerto Rican Salted Coconut Flan
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5 from 1 review
Author: Salima Benkhalti
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Category: Custard, Dessert
Method: Baked, Water Bath
Cuisine: Caribbean, Puerto Rican
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Caramel:
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tsp flake salt
For the Filling:
- 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
- 1 (12 oz) can sweetened condensed coconut milk
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- a pinch of flake salt
Optional Toppings:
- raspberries
- mint
- additional flake salt
Instructions
- Pour sugar into a dry pot and melt over medium heat. Do not stir or insert utensils, which can cause crystallization.
- When the sugar is fully melted and golden, quickly pour and spread the caramel in an oven-safe dish or individual dishes. Sprinkle with flake salt.
- Place all filling ingredients in a blender and blend until velvety smooth. Pour the custard over the caramel in the baking dishes.
- Bake in a water bath at 350°F for 45–60 minutes, depending on dish size, until the flan is set but slightly jiggly in the center. Allow to cool completely.
- Run a knife or spatula around the edge, invert onto a serving plate so the caramel drizzles over the top, garnish if desired, and serve.
